FINALLY Got It Bought!!!

[vintageracer]

After a year + of looking posting wanted ads on CL/Facebook for a Hallmark 4 Wheel Camper or Phoenix Ford Bronco Pop-Up camper, finally having the second owner call me off a wanted ad willing to sell their Hallmark Bronco camper and working with the seller for the last 2 months trying to git the deal done I have finally today purchased a 1984 Ford Bronco Hallmark Pop-Up camper that is still attached to the 1984 Ford Bronco upon which the camper was installed when both the Bronco and the Hallmark Pop-Up were brand new! Could not be happier! Looking forward to gitting it shipped to me here in TN.

Now to git the second part of this project which is to complete the purchase 1990 Ford Centurion 4 Door Bronco I have been trying to buy for the last year plus. The 4 Door Centurion Bronco will need a LOT of work as its been sitting for years.

My goal has been to have a 4 door Bronco with a Hallmark, 4WC or Phoenix camper mounted. Remove the middle seat in the 4 door Bronco and have a neat 4WD Bronco camper with an extra 3 feet of room over the factory 2 door Bronco camper.

Below are pics of both. The 1984 2 door Bronco with the camper will git all the attention first gittin it in good operational condition and USE IT this year camping and travelling. The plan for the 1990 4 Door Bronco is to git a complete rebuild of mechanics, suspension, interior and exterior to be finished in early 2022 and then mount the Hallmark Pop-Up camper on the completed 4 door Bronco.

Yes it's an ambitious project yet something I have wanted to do for last several years. NOW it's all on me to git my 1985 Toyota 4Runner back from paint, put it together and to start on the Bronco's and "Git R Dun"!

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Fantastic purchase. I am sure you know to watch the body seams especially where Centurian spliced the body together. Roof and floor seams were known for cracking. Electrical gremlins are going to your nightmare. Most are related to the electrical connectors and old wiring insulation that has broken down. Sad thing is there is no actual replacement wiring harness available for the whole Bronco newer than a 1979. There are aftermarket engine harness available.

If I could afford it, I would own every version of Bronco. Not just because I am brand loyal, but because rugged durable drivetrain and suspension. Yes body rust is an issue with vehicles of the this age. Usually rocker panels, bottom of doors. inner rear fenders, tailgate area and tailgate, rain gutters, and cowl area.

 

[ITTOG]

Wow, that sounds like an awesome build. But reviving that four door will be quite the chore, as you mentioned. Good luck bringing that back from the dead.

 

[givemethewillys]

This is going to be great....subscribed

 

[vintageracer]

Amazing as it sounds the 4 door Bronco in the pics above looks bad however it is not rusty. Pretty amazing! The only real rust spot is a small spot at the bottom of the original Bronco tailgate which is a Ford issue not a Centurion issue. The underside floors, rockers, body mounts and all are in superb condition. The roof has cracking as they all do where it was put together at Centurion.

I purchased a new 1995 Ford F350 Powerstroke crew cab truck new in September 1994 and sent it to Centurion for a stretch adding a extended cab behind the crew cab so I'm at quite familiar with Centurion conversions and their faults. I still have the truck almost 27 years later! I traveled to White Pigeon Michigan to pickup my truck at Centurion and got the $2 tour when they were still in business. I also have one of Centurions Van/PU dually conversions from the 1980's. It's rough however it is complete.

I have had several 4 door Bronco's in the past which is why I have had this plan in the back of my mind for awhile. I have looked for the last 5 years for a Debryan Coach conversion 4 Door Bronco. Debryan was a high end limo builder in Arkansas who built about 35 4 door Bronco's. They are by far the best 4 door Bronco conversion out there! So much better than Magnum, Metropolitan or Centurion. So far I am aware of only 2-3 of the Debryan 4 door Bronco's have been found. I will keep looking as "It's all about the Chase" as our friend Wayne says! Right now ya take what you can git.

The Centurion Bronco in the pics above is a C150 1/2 ton conversion. Most Centurion 4 Door Bronco's were C350 conversions. That means a big suspension upgrade needs to occur. I will still look for other 4 door Bronco's and who knows I may find a better 4 door Bronco before I start on the 4 door shown above. That may save time and money buying a better truck.

Time will tell!

 

[Knickter]

This is nice, can't wait for the updates

 

[vintageracer]

The shipper is picking it up tomorrow. Will deliver on Monday!

 

[vintageracer]

I finally was able to buy the 4 door Black Centurion Bronco and also just picked up the rust-free 93 Bronco shown below. Plan is to put the camper on this later model Bronco in the short term while the 4 door gits redone.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I finally was able to buy the 4 door Black Centurion Bronco and also just picked up the rust-free 93 Bronco shown below. Plan is to put the camper on this later model Bronco in the short term while the 4 door gits redone.

That looks really clean!

 

[vintageracer]

Goin Bronco Nut's again.

Picked up this one owner 1 ton Centurion 4 Door Bronco this weekend!

Other than the surface rust on the hood from sitting for years with the front-end of the truck sticking out of the barn and the driver's side rear door surface rust its super solid underneath and everywhere else. One of the most solid old 4 Door Bronco's I have seen in a longtime!

 

[vintageracer]

Well I could not resist again!

I am finally DONE as I now think I have the proper 4 Door Bronco for this Bronco specific Hallmark Camper swap and transformation.

Just picked up this 1990 Diesel 7.3 IDI Centurion 4 Door Bronco. It looked a lot worse for wear when I purchased it however it is cleaning up nice. Swapped a nice set of Bullitt hole wheels with Dura-Trac Goodyears I purchased cheap on the truck, buffed on the paint, replacing some tie rod ends/drag link and I believe this one is the one!

I guess the blue 1988 C350 one ton will go up for sale. Have not decided what to do with the black C150 1/2 ton as it will be a huge project.

First pic is what it looked like when delivered on Monday Sept 13th. Here's what it looks like now (Sept 16th) after 3 hours of pressure washing, the original paint buffed out and the Bullitt hole wheels/tires added. Cleans up pretty good if I do say so myself. Of course pressure washing and buffing this pig is a LOT of work!

Truck runs great. Porno Red interior is OK. Dash and door panels are nice. I am going to change out the carpet and front seats Centurion installed for a factory 40/20/40 front seat. The 2 rear rows of seats will be removed for camper installation.

Shoulda bought a better 4 Door to start with however you take what you can git when it presents itself. I will eventually git there. Just need to sell at least 3 of the 5 Bronco's I acquired during this fiasco!!!

Gittin closer to mounting that Hallmark Bronco specific pop-top camper from the 2 Door Bronco on a 4 Door Bronco!

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

I want a 4 door!!

 

[eblau]

what are your plans for the other 4 doors?

 

[vintageracer]

Going to sell the blue original paint rust-free 1 owner 1 Ton 4 door Bronco. The black one is still parked at the home of the person from whom I purchased it as he redoing his home and landscape locking the black one on his property with no access until the job gets finished.

I have lot's of detailed pics if anyone is interested. I don't need 3 four door Broncos. It just took a process to ultimately get the best one for my plans.

 

[vintageracer]

Talked with the owner of the original Black 1990 C150 4 Door Bronco I agreed to purchase. Will be able to pick it up within the next 3 weeks as landscaping work is finally being finished at their home allowing access to his shop area to git the truck out of there is getting closer.

I continue to work on the Red 1990 C350 4 door Bronco. Completely pressure washed, newer/better wheels/tires installed, all new brakes including pads, calipers, booster, master cylinder, hoses, rear wheel cylinders, drums etc, completely serviced all fluids, exterior buff/polish complete now on to paint touchup, outer and inner window seals replaced, new tail light assemblies, bulbs, front steering drag link/tie rod ends, removed old window tint, new wipers, power windows/locks all serviced and working properly, tilt steering column repaired and working properly. I am going to pull out the all the seats/carpet for cleaning prior to the installation of the camper. Going to do some measuring to make sure the rear floors are the same between the Bronco's as Centurion fabricated their own flat floor. So far that looks like it is not going to be an issue. I have been driving the truck to put some miles on it. Only issue now is the fuel gauge does not work and I need to replace all the O rings in the A/C system before attempting to convert to R134 and charge the system. I may have to replace the A\C hoses with new barrier type 134 compatible hose. We will see. I have never had to do that yet on any other vehicle upon which I converted from R12 to R134. Going to remove the rear bumper, hitch and tailgate for installation of camper when that time arrives.

Getting close to moving the 1982 2 Door Bronco up to the shop to remove the Hallmark camper and git it ready for install on the C350. With any luck the camper will not implode during the removal process. Going to use my 2 post lift for the removal and installation process. Talked with the folks at Hallmark Camper. 1 guy is still at Hallmark from the early 1990's when these Bronco specific were built. He has been very helpful with information and likes my ideas for removal and installation of the camper.

I will have pictures of the removal/installation when this occurs.

Here's a when delivered to me pic and a what it looks like now pic.